Cold Case Manhunt

by Jennifer Morey

  Cal said, “We’d like to understand more about Dr. Benjamin’s business practices. Can you help us with that?”

  He didn’t reveal Payton had called the fraud unit. Surely he didn’t want word getting around to Benjamin too soon.

  “I don’t know. Depends on what you want to know.” She sipped her latte.

  “He’s got his regular practice, but he also has other clinics. What do they do?”

  “He’s got two surgical offices, two family practices and the home health care offices.”

  “How does that work? Do the doctors rent space from him?”

  She shook her head. “No. They all work for him.”

  “Have you ever noticed him diagnosing anyone with something they didn’t need or anything that seemed unusual?”

  “No.”

  “How is the insurance handled in all the offices? Do they manage their own or does he have a department dedicated to that?”

  “I didn’t work with the insurance at all, but I do know he had a referral program where doctors who referred patients to his offices received a bonus of some sort. It’s how he grew his business to what it is today.”

  That made sense. The more doctors referring to his practice, the more patients he had and the more money he made. But that couldn’t be the only way he’d grown his practice.

  “Did he have any other incentive programs?” she asked.

  “Not that I know of.”

  “What about any other business policies?” Cal added, “Anything relating to a patient’s treatment?”

  “As much as I don’t like him, I have to say he was very thorough. He has high ratings. Patients love him.”

  Some a little too much, perhaps. Payton, for example.

  “Do you know of anyone we can talk to in the home health care offices?” Cal asked.

  Jaslene didn’t think they’d get much more from this woman, either.

  “Yeah. I have a friend who’s a nurse at one of them. I can give you her name.”

  * * *

  Cal wondered about Bonita’s comment on how thorough Dr. Benjamin was with his patients. From an insurance angle, maybe he’d been too thorough. The referral program didn’t seem unusual, just good business sense.

  Jaslene reached the town house door ahead of him. Sandy Pennington, the nurse Bonita told them about, lived here. Bonita had even phoned her friend for them, so she was expecting them.

  He could still smell the body spray Jaslene used. It was subtle and he’d begun to identify her by smell alone. Still in the faded blue jeans and flaring gray sweater, she’d drawn his gaze more than once since leaving the doctor’s office and finding out they were going to be parents.

  Sandy opened the door with a wary smile. “Hi. You must be the detectives.”

  Cal didn’t correct her. “Thanks for agreeing to talk to us.”

  “Come in.” She stepped aside. “It’s getting cold outside.”

  Cal let Jaslene inside ahead of him, closing the door in a small entry.

  “Bonita said you wanted to know about Dr. Benjamin’s home health care divisions?” Sandy sat on the sectional.

  Jaslene sat adjacent from her, so Cal did the same.

  “We wondered if you could tell us how the home health care is run and who handles the insurance,” Cal said.

  “Insurance.” She seemed curious why he’d ask such a thing. “Well, we’re assigned patients and make our rounds. We have paperwork we complete for the insurance and turn that in to administration. They file all the claims.”

  “Are you ever instructed to do work that isn’t necessary?”

  “Not that I’ve noticed. The patients’ care is our top priority. Most of them feel well taken care of. That’s one of the reasons I love working where I do.”

  “Do you ever work with Dr. Benjamin?” Jaslene asked.

  “No, but Bonita told me plenty. I feel bad for her but I have a good job and I don’t have to deal with him.”

  Cal noticed Jaslene scratch her ear and then fidget with her hands in her lap. Was she suspicious over how everyone had such nice things to say about the doctor? He was.

  Chapter 13

  Jaslene agreed with Cal that they shouldn’t talk to Dr. Benjamin about Payton’s call to the fraud unit. If he knew they were onto him—really onto him—and if he had something to do with Payton’s disappearance, there was no telling what he’d do. Returning from Sandy’s, they entered her house to hear Rapunzel yipping. Potty trained, she had the run of the house. Why was she not rushing to greet them? Apprehension reared up.

  Cal held his arm out, an indication for her to stop.

  The sudden sound of footfalls in the living room preceded the appearance of Riley. Jaslene sucked in a frightened breath. Armed with a gun, he fired as he ran past the laundry room. Cal shoved Jaslene behind the cover of the closet, grunting as though he’d been hit.

  She didn’t have time to check. He drew his pistol and ran after Riley.

  Carefully, she followed. In the area between the kitchen and living room, she saw Cal chase after Riley through the back door. She also saw blood on his arm.

  “Cal!” He had been hit! She rushed to the door but he was already sprinting across the backyard after Riley.

  To her horror, Riley reached the fence and turned his gun on Cal. But Cal ducked behind the grill in time and fired back as Riley climbed over the fence and cried out, indicating Cal had struck his target.

  Running to the fence, Cal jumped high and catapulted over. He must not be seriously injured if he could still do that.

  Jaslene reached for the phone and dialed 911 as Rapunzel appeared in the kitchen, barking urgently. She ran into the living room, stopping to look back at her owner. When Jaslene didn’t move, she barked and returned to the kitchen before running again into the living room.

  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

  Jaslene followed the puppy, who’d grown in the last several weeks. “Someone broke into my house.”

  The operator asked if the address she had was correct as Rapunzel trotted down the hall to the master bedroom.

  “Yes, that’s correct.”

  Rapunzel barked at the bed.

  “Where is the intruder now?”

  “He ran away.”

  Seeing nothing out of place, Jaslene crouched and looked underneath and saw what looked like a bomb.

  “Oh my God. There is a bomb in my house!” Dropping the phone, she picked up the puppy and ran from the bedroom, through the house to the front door. Outside, she ran to the sidewalk and searched for Cal. She doubted he’d climb back over the fence. Hearing more gunfire, she worried he’d been hit again, especially when she spotted a motorcycle speeding around the corner down the block. She ran to the yard next door and took cover behind a tree.

  Holding Rapunzel close, she waited for an explosion as the motorcycle neared. Her house could explode and Riley could shoot her. He still had a gun and aimed it at her. She cringed behind the tree as bark flew. Rapunzel whimpered and squirmed.

  Gunfire from down the street told her Cal wasn’t far. As the motorcycle sped away, the shooting stopped.

  Cal ran to them and breathlessly watched Riley get away. Sirens grew louder.

  “Why are you outside?” Cal asked.

  “There’s a bomb under my bed.”

  His breathing faltered in alarm. “What?”

  Emergency vehicles arrived, along with a bomb squad. Jaslene waited anxiously to find out if her house would explode.

  * * *

  Cal did not like the fact that Riley had gotten away from him—again. He had nearly destroyed Jaslene’s house and partially burned his down. The bomb squad had disarmed the bomb in time, luckily.

  “Why does he keep trying to kill us?” Jaslene asked.

  They sat on the sofa i
n the living room with a documentary playing, Rapunzel curled in a furry ball on one end next to Jaslene.

  Riley had fake-shot a gun at them first, fired at them when they’d found him in hiding, then he’d broken into both of their homes and set Cal’s house on fire, but one thing stood out to Cal. The man who’d driven by shooting had worn a mask. The person who had started the fire had also worn a mask. Had that also been Riley or had it been someone else?

  The bullet shell casings from all the scenes matched, except for those found at the drive-by. Riley could have more than one gun, but what if someone else was also trying to kill them? The masked man in the drive-by seemed to have been be more professional than Riley. He’d only try to kill them if he had a solid opportunity. The drive-by had the advantage of surprise and a short period of time. Also, the masked man hid his identity. Riley had not, almost as though he’d wanted them to know who was after them.

  “Revenge is making him brazen,” he said.

  “He was obsessed with Payton before she disappeared. Killing me because he blames me makes no sense.”

  “It does if he didn’t kill her. He was forced to stay away from her, then she went missing. Remember? According to Riley, she’d still be here if she hadn’t broken things off with him.”

  Jaslene gave him a closer look. “How is it not Riley? We’ve seen him.”

  “Remember the drive-by? The fire?”

  “Almost every time I close my eyes.”

  “The driver wore a mask.”

  She took a few seconds to ponder that. “We need to find out if Dr. Benjamin is involved in insurance fraud. That could point us to the real culprit.”

  “My thoughts exactly. Rapunzel isn’t the only detective in the making.”

  Just then Jaslene’s cell rang. She reached over Rapunzel to get her phone and answered.

  Cal saw her face turn down into a concerned frown. “What’s wrong?”

  Jaslene stood and so did Cal.

  “When did they come by?”

  Jaslene covered her mouth with her hand and stared at Cal as she listened to a long dialogue on the other end. She closed her eyes a few times and her eyes began to tear up.

  “Was she drowned?” Jaslene wiped her eye and breathed to control her emotions.

  Right then Cal knew Payton’s body had been discovered.

  “Strangled?” Jaslene asked.

  Strangled in her house and then dumped or strangled somewhere else? Questions fired away in his head.

  Jaslene looked at Cal again. “They think someone put her in the river?”

  Strangled, then dumped.

  “Do they have any ideas on who might have done it?” he asked.

  “They’re questioning people in the area now,” she said to Cal, and then she told the caller, “If you need help planning services, I’m here for you, okay?”

  Jaslene listened for a brief time longer and then said a somber goodbye. She stared down at the phone awhile. “Payton’s body was found on the bank of a river earlier today. That was her mother. Her parents have just identified the body. She called to let me know because I was her closest friend.”

  Tears dripped down her cheeks, springing free on what had to be a big wave of sorrow.

  “Oh, baby.” He went to her and took her into his arms. “I’m so sorry.”

  She sobbed softly against him a few moments. Cal took her phone and set it on the coffee table. She gripped his shirt at his back when he embraced her firmly again. He rubbed her back.

  “I know you hurt but you must have known it could come to this,” he said as gently as he could.

  She nodded against his shoulder, followed by a sniffle and more sobs.

  “Her body will lead us to her killer, Jaslene. I won’t let him get away with this. I promise.” He rubbed her back some more. “Take comfort in that.”

  She leaned back, eyes reddened and face wet. His heart lurched with the need to make her feel better. If he could take her sadness into him he would, to spare her this pain.

  All he could do was bend a little and kiss her, not hard, just a soft, reassuring kiss to let her know he was here for her.

  Her breathing was unsteady and she sniffled. He leaned back in search of a tissue. There was a box on the side table.

  Rapunzel sat up and watched with round, innocent eyes.

  Cal gave Jaslene a few tissues. Her crying had eased, but he slid his arms loosely around her. She blew her nose and gracefully dropped the wad onto the coffee table.

  “I have to go to work now,” he said. “I need to talk to the detectives who processed her body.” He’d also get on them about not calling him. He should have been on the scene.

  “Can I go with you?” she asked, taking another tissue and dabbing her eyes.

  “I’m going to the coroner’s. I’d rather you go stay with a friend. I’ll drop you off and pick you up when I’m done. I’ll fill you in on everything after.”

  When she still didn’t agree, he said, “I don’t want you to see her body, Jaslene, and I need to know you’re somewhere safe.”

  At last she nodded, clearly not wanting to see her friend’s body. “I’ll call Tatum. Catherine will probably join us when she finds out.”

  “Give me the address. I’ll get another detective to watch over you. Let me make some calls. You go and get ready to go.”

  * * *

  “Wait.”

  Jaslene stopped from opening the car door to get out. Cal had just stopped in front of Tatum’s house. She watched him walk around the front of his SUV and then open her door. He must be pampering her because she was so upset.

  She got out and stood before him on the sidewalk. “Thanks.”

  He slid his arm around her and brought her close. Looking into her eyes, magnetizing her with warmth, he touched her chin with two fingers and kissed her.

  The touch of his lips made her shiver with desire.

  “Good luck in there,” he said with affection in his eyes. Then he looked into the street.

  She glanced back and saw a car parked behind Cal’s SUV. That must be the other detective.

  Cal kissed her again.

  She wasn’t looking forward to telling her friends about Payton. She’d told Tatum she’d be stopping by and to call Catherine, who’d probably already guessed Jaslene had news to share.

  “See you soon.” She moved away from his embrace and the smile that came to her wasn’t forced. He had made her feel good when she was so heartbroken over Payton.

  He grinned back and then winked.

  Obviously he’d forgotten she was pregnant. Or maybe he was adjusting to the idea.

  Turning, she headed for the three-paneled glass and brown-framed front door of Tatum’s house.

  Catherine stood in the hardwood entry with her arms folded over a football sweatshirt. She wore faded jeans and tennis shoes.

  “What was that all about?” Tatum asked.

  “The last time we talked you didn’t seem very fond of your detective. You look more than fond now,” Catherine said.

  Jaslene closed the front door behind her and moved farther into the entry without answering.

  She had bad news to tell them first. “I asked to meet you here because something happened.”

  “Come on in.” Tatum led them into the great room.

  Jaslene sat on the pink sofa next to Catherine, and Tatum took one of the chairs. She’d put out a pitcher of iced herbal tea on the big square coffee table with a white vase of green hydrangeas and a stack of books. Jaslene poured herself a glass and Catherine took the next glass. Tatum didn’t move to do the same.

  Jaslene held the glass, struggling with a way to come out and say their good friend was confirmed dead.

  “What’s the matter, Jaslene?” Tatum asked. “You sounded so urgent on the phone.”

/>   “They found her body, didn’t they?” Catherine said. She’d never been one to gloss anything over, so Jaslene shouldn’t be surprised she’d blurted that out.

  “She was strangled and her body was dumped in the Elk River.” Jaslene stood and walked to the window, rubbing her arm. “Her mother called me not long ago and told me. She identified the body.”

  “Her body was still intact?” Catherine asked, standing and coming to Jaslene, who faced her.

  “Catherine,” Tatum admonished, standing as well.

  “What? It’s been a long time since she died.”

  “Listening to you, people would think you didn’t even know Payton.”

  Catherine cocked her head in protest.

  All this talk of Payton as a body bothered Jaslene. She remembered her long red hair, green eyes and unique style of dressing and couldn’t bring herself to picture her rotting in a river.

  “I don’t know any details yet,” she said after a swallow, “but her body must have been preserved somehow.” Or she had been held captive and killed recently. Jaslene shuddered with the thought.

  “My last memory of her is when we all went shopping and caught a movie. Remember that day?” Tatum’s eyes grew bittersweet.

  That was a good day. Payton had been so animated, cracking jokes and talking about her newest story. Jaslene had seen her once more after that and also talked to her on the phone. But nothing had cued her that something was wrong or Payton had any reason to fear for her life.

  “We went to her house after that and drank wine and talked until two in the morning,” Catherine said, having sobered. “She talked about going to Europe together.”

  “We were going to plan the trip at our next lunch,” Tatum said.

  Jaslene remembered how excited she was with the idea. She wiped a tear from beneath her eye and then another, sniffling.

  “I’m sorry, Jaslene,” Catherine said, starting to cry with her. “I never believed we’d find her alive.”

  Tatum hugged her and cried, too, Catherine making it a three-person hug. They cried for a while and then gradually eased out of the embrace.